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Xerxe the UoL/TSM rivalry: “I don’t think it affects us that we lost to TSM, but more that we lost.”

Unicorns of Love performed the worst of all participating teams on the first day of NA vs. EU Rift Rivals. Despite being a member of the only team to go 0-2, jungler Andrei “Xerxe” Dragomir took time to talk to Slingshot’s Kelsey Moser about the surprising losses and UoL’s potential wakeup call.

Kelsey Moser: It was a little unexpected for UoL to go 0-2 today. Do you guys feel like you can change things up and bounce back really hard tomorrow?

Andrei “Xerxe” Dragomir: When we get home, we’re going to talk about today’s games. Hopefully there’s going to be a wakeup call, and we realize we actually have to improve like that.

KM: You guys will pick a lot of the really late scaling comps like the Ryze and Twitch. Is this something you feel like you’ve just been kind of getting away with, or is it something you feel is really strong?

AD: We don’t really plan on picking late game champions. Like we lost the early game, and we want to play for early and mid game, but these are the picks we had.

KM: When I watch you play in the jungle when UoL fall behind, it becomes difficult to look for opportunities. Do you constantly think about this? Are you willing to take more risks in these cases?

AD: I think sometimes they just get one or two kills mid. I feel like mid lane enables the jungler a lot. Once they get one or two kills on our mid laner, it becomes hard for him to contest the wave, and it becomes really hard for me to work. Sometimes that’s why people think that I’m quite passive or I’m not doing anything, but sometimes it’s just too hard to do anything.

KM: Does that affect why you feel you tend to pick a lot of scaling picks?

AD: I guess it does affect myself and what I should pick. Should I pick more for scaling? Should I pick even more early game to just pressure mid lane?

KM: It seems like you’re trying to rely on top lane counter pick or getting top ahead. Is that something to do deliberately, or is it something you adapt to as the draft or situation calls for it?

AD: Normally we don’t really care about that. We just adapt to how the pick and ban goes. But in the second game, Csacsi wanted a counter pick.

KM: The UoL-TSM rivalry is a little old, even if you’re newer to the team. Does it impact you guys more when you lose to TSM in particular?

AD: I don’t think it affects us that we lost to TSM, but more that we lost. I get really affected by losses. I keep thinking ‘What did I do wrong? What should I have done better?’ I just don’t like losing, not that anybody likes it.

KM: I think you mentioned earlier it might be a good wakeup call for you?

AD: It actually might be good for us. Now people will think about what they did wrong. Maybe we will realize what our mistakes are, and maybe we can just work on our mistakes, and maybe we can be good again.

KM: For you personally is there anything that jumped out in particular about your own play?

AD: I usually re-watch my plays, and I think should I have ganked top lane? But maybe I get counter ganked. I always think of the worst scenarios that can happen. I don’t take that many risks because I don’t want to risk the game.

KM: In terms of the Rift Rivals tournament, did you come here with a lot of prep? Did you feel Rift Rivals was awkwardly scheduled? How did you feel going in?

AD: I was really hyped for the tournament, and I think we did the usual pick and ban, the usual scrims before. We scrim every day: two blocks. Just normal preparation for LCS.

KM: If there’s one thing you could say to UoL fans to make them feel reassured?

AD: We will do our best to improve from today’s losses, and hopefully we can bounce back.